Woman-led gang of carjackers busted

Anisa Kiran had 22 young men working for her

KARACHI:

In our patriarchal society, women are stereotyped as heartbreakers, but a recent incident shows some women could also be badass lawbreakers.

Police claimed on Sunday that they have busted a gang of carjackers and street criminals operated by a woman by arresting its six suspected members, all young men.

District Central SSP Zeeshan Shafiq Siddiqui announced the gang's ringleader, Anisa Kiran, is already under police custody.

He added the gang members' arrests were made by the FB Industrial Area police last week, inflicting a huge blow to the gang's operations.

SSP Siddiqui said that the gang, which has 22 members, targeted factory vehicles, distribution company cashiers, and carried out several robberies.

He further disclosed that Anisa Kiran not only led the group but was actively involved in facilitating the crimes. Her husband, Saad, played a key role as her accomplice, recruiting young men employed in factories as salesmen or order bookers and luring them into the world of crime with promises of easy money.

The arrested suspects include Sherdil, Abdul Rafi, Kabir, Basit, Saad, and Anisa Kiran herself. Among them, Basit had recently returned from Dubai, while others had been operating under the radar for over a year before their arrest. Most were first-time arrestees.

Police have recovered a cache of stolen items from the suspects, including three pistols, mobile phones, cash, ladies' purses, wallets, cameras, and laptops. The stolen goods were reportedly taken from robbery victims in different localities of Karachi, including Bilal Colony, Shahrah-e-Noor Jahan, Defence, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Hyderi Market, Azizabad, Mubina Town, Aziz Bhatti, Quaidabad, Bin Qasim, and Shah Latif. Sherdil and Rafi had previously been detained by the Defence police for similar crimes. During interrogation, the suspects confessed to their involvement in dozens of robberies across the city.